Which raises the question: How much longer can the Brewers stay in Nashville? They signed a new two-year player development contract with the Sounds after the 2012 season, committing to stay through 2014. But, in doing so, the Brewers noted the need for a new ballpark (in an interesting side note, the Sounds' lease at Greer expires after the 2013 season). »Read Full Blog Post

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I've never been to Greer Stadium (or to Nashville, for that matter), but I have been to Cashman Field in Las Vegas, which is generally considered the worst of the 30 Triple-A PDC locations. (The Blue Jays were stuck there until they signed a new PDC with Buffalo, leaving the Mets with Vegas as their only alternative.)

Cashman isn't in a great neighborhood and it doesn't have the accouterments that MLB organizations want, like indoor batting cages and mammoth clubhouses. But I would hardly categorize it as a "dump" in the implied sense that it's unfit or unsafe as a place to play or watch baseball. From both standpoints, it's just fine if you aren't looking for a "mini major league" experience.

So I have to assume Greer Stadium also meets those criteria, and I note from the story that Nashville officials consider rebuilding a hospital a much higher priority than building a new ballpark - a sentiment with which I'm sure I'd agree if I were a Nashville voter. And in the current financial climate, the days of cities allowing themselves to be held hostage by MLB and by real-estate speculators are numbered. Reno has learned that lesson the hard way ... it built a brand-new park a few years ago to attract a Triple-A team, and now it is on the verge of losing the team and having the ballpark become a Stonehenge because the investors are demanding more money from the city to refinance it.

If the Brewers do leave Nashville, they won't have many options ... if convenience is a priority, there are only four current minor league cities - Charlotte, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Memphis - that have nonstop flights from Mitchell. The Padres are moving from Tucson to El Paso in 2014. Given Tucson's proximity to Maryville, the snowbird-fan factor, and the fact its ballpark was refurbished to temporarily house the Padres' affiliate once northern San Diego County rebuffed the Padres' effort to build a Triple-A park there, Tucson might be the best available option for the Brewers

Thanks labrewer ... and I would also add that I doubt Nashville would consider remaining a Triple-A baseball city as a priority worth more than token taxpayer subsidies. It already has two major-league entities - the NHL (remember the NHL?) and the SEC. For Nashville, I would have to think building a new ballpark for the Sounds would be the equivalent of Milwaukee being asked to build a new arena for the Admirals. And what chance do you think that proposal would have of passing municipal or voter muster?

I'll be there for good come March, tracker ... bought the condo in August and stayed there for a couple of weeks in November. Can't wait to get there and not have to leave there.

My next book project will be Milwaukee-based ... it'll be about the lame-duck '65 Braves. I know many people my age or a little older who still remember both the passion of those years and the final betrayal, and I plan to make those sentiments - and the events that led up to them - the central theme of the book.

The Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Fox Cities Stadium is better than Greer Stadium. Most high schools have basic comparable scoreboards to Greer Stadium, while the Timber Rattlers have a nice big HD video screen scoreboard, new grandstands, and in a good area. An upgrade in Nashville is necessary.

I am only speculating, but maybe this leads to Appleton being the AAA, and maybe having Beloit renovate Pholman Field a bit and have the single A team back there? 2 minor leagure Brewers team in state.

I've had the same thought, at least regarding Appleton. They drew about 3,500 per last year, less than Nashville which was 4,700. And I think the Fox Valley won't be any more impressed with the T-Rats being AAA vs. A to make up that difference. But the convenience of a nearby franchise, the newly renovated park, the sound ownership situation, you wonder if that puts them in line for a promotion, despite the limitations of the market size.

They'd have to expand the Appleton park significantly to accommodate the kind of crowds they'd need to attract to be viable in Triple-A, wouldn't they? And I'd have to think weather would be a factor ... don't know if I'd be intrepid enough to go to a game in Appleton in April, whether it's A-ball or Triple-A. But if those factors didn't enter into it, I'm sure the Brewers would support the idea, and having a PDC with them would certainly be beneficial attendance-wise.

Capacity is currently 5,500 and the $5.5 million renovation (all privately funded) won't add to that (more restrooms, bigger concessions, team store, banquet room). I don't know if there are seating capacity standards for AAA that don't exist (or are smaller) for A ball. Having sat in both Greer and the T-Rat home, my sense is they're pretty close to being the same size.

I'm a Milwaukee implant living in Nashville. The people of Nashville embrace the team in spite of the stadium itself. Many of them fondly reference the trade-off between the Predators/ Admirals and Sounds/ Brewers.

It would really be a shame if they can't get this together. It's a growing city and the 3 proposed locations would add your standard non-family bringing sports fans to many families that already fill the stadium on the weekends. Both the metro and city itself of Nashville hold slightly more residents than Milwaukee; it's a big league caliber city.

That being said, the stadium is crap. It's worse than most Spring Training facilities and many colleges and at the AAA level in a city this size that's unnacceptable. I wouldn't blame the Brewers for leaving, classic struggle of a mayor that doesn't care about sports and a cash strapped owner not willing to help finance a stadium.

Hurricane Hazle, you forgot that Nashville also has the NFL Tennessee Titans.

I went to Greer a few years back, there's probably high school teams with better ball parks. Their locker rooms and batting cages are in sheds, the seating is uncomfortable, and there's sections blocked off that I'm guessing aren't safe to sit in or something.

Oops on the Titans ... I did forget them, not being much of an NFL follower anymore. Is it really true that the Chicago Cardinals moved to St. Louis? :)

Don't know how Greer compares to some of the really ratty minor-league ballparks I've seen - some of which, like Cashman, are still in use. As a fan, I like older parks as long as they're structurally sound, the sight lines aren't obstructed and I don't have to drive through a war zone to get to them ... and I'll actually stay away from new parks where there are so many accouterments and "entertainment experience" elements that the baseball becomes secondary.

But that's just me ... I realize that the threshold to make it financially in minor league baseball is much higher than it used to be, and that a lot of fans have to be offered much more than the baseball if they're going to show up regularly. if Nashville can get a new ballpark, more power to it. But I'd object if baseball were to be made a higher priority than hospitals.

It is very interesting that both contracts expire at the end of the 2013 season. Especially considering all the effort to have the new minor league stadium built for 2014 in Loudoun County, VA just outside of Washington, DC.

I would be a very happy camper to see the top prospects of the Brewers playing a short drive from my home.

There are plenty of Country Music stars that come out to Greer Stadium, and take part in various promotions there. If one doesn't want to go solo in investing money into the team, then a number of them could pool their resources. People that come to mind include, Vince Gill and Tim McGraw. McGraw, in fact, was a part-owner of the old Arena Football League team, the Nashville Kats. I lived there for five years, and know there is good, loyal, fan support, who deserve a good facility, and would fill the place if given a stadium that compares to the one across the state in Memphis.